New Article on Democratization of Nuclear Information

6 November 2013 - Online Searcher, a leading journal on information discovery, information technology and strategy, published an article on Nuclear Information Democratization, prepared by Dobrica Savic, Head of the Nuclear Information Section (NIS), in its November/December 2013 issue.

The article starts with the assumption that democratization of nuclear information has its roots in the growth of a knowledge-based economy, the knowledge worker as a user of nuclear information, developments in information and communication technologies (ICT), and the impact of internet growth. It states that the results of democratization are apparent in the process of information creation, in how nuclear information is distributed and accessed, and in the conditions for using the information. The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) both reflects and contributes to these trends.

Information can be regarded as knowledge, a process, or a thing. All three facets or views of nuclear information can benefit from democratization efforts. INIS represents a good example of successful democratization on all three levels. Valuable nuclear knowledge codified in 3.5 million information resources was collected in a collaborative and fully democratic manner among 152 INIS members, and it was made freely and openly available to the world through the internet—the cheapest and most effective tool for modern information dissemination, retrieval, and use. This collected corpus of nuclear information is preserved as the world’s nuclear scientific and technical heritage for current and future researchers interested in the topic.

The article concludes that democratization of nuclear information is not a static goal. It is a process whereby information technology and modern information management practices are combined to bring maximum benefits to end users by making the information easily accessible and freely and openly usable.